“My eyes are
up here.”
Medusa* #quote
Today I met No One Important. Mr. Important has quite strong
religious beliefs and loves the color blue. Maybe I'll see No again
soon. Anyway onto the flash fiction!
Music And Chairs
A billionaire bought an old mansion that no one in the little town
that no one would touch or buy because they all believed ghosts
inhabited it. He chose it to be his vacation home. After housekeeping
cleaned it all up he took his first winter there like a bird
migrating. He ignored his workers mentioning that they heard strange
noises. He told them it was an old home and it wasn't close enough to
Halloween to mess with him.
“But Mr. Russel, we're serious. There's something going on there.”
He dismissed what they said even when he heard the creaks in the
house the first night he slept there. The jet lag from flying
bothered him enough.
The first morning of his vacation he decided he would play his
guitar in the living room. The windows of the place let in wonderful
light and the temperature felt warm. He could imagine an audience in
the chairs and couches around him. Maybe when he invited the family
over the vacation home they would see him play the guitar there.
After plenty more practice of course.
He began playing and after awhile he began to hear tapping. Thunk,
thunk, thunk. The light tapping of wood against wood to the exact
beat of the song he played. The next song he played it matched that
one. He kept playing and he heard the tapping in stereo around him.
Multiple sources of the tapping surrounding him. Thunk, thunk, thunk
to the rhythm. He assumed he'd must have been imagining something.
With a glance at the floor he noticed the source of the tapping: the
chairs in the room. Each one in the room tapped against the floor to
the beat of his music. A loud series of bangs began to happen to the
beat as the couches joined in.
Mr. Russel thought to himself “James, whatever is going on, don't
panic.” He kept playing as if the chairs would get up and attack
him if he stopped. Whacking could be heard as the cabinet doors from
the kitchen kept opening and closing to the beat. The lamps in the
room spun to the tune of the song. The billionaire heard noise from
all over the house of objects moving to the music.
The television in the family room turned on. On the screen a
skeleton in a suit appeared with static behind him. Though without
flesh the skeleton couldn't smile the way he clapped to the beat and
leaned eagerly forward expressed happiness.
After what seemed like forever the billionaire lost the ability to
play. His arms became too tired. The sun already declined far down
from the morning and towards twilight. He thought when he stopped
playing the furniture would attack him like angry monsters and he
merely kept it at bay.
“Bravo! Encore!” yelled voices from all over the home. The
skeleton emerged from the television.
The creature's mouth clattered as it opened and shut to speak. Must
have been some sort of formality for whatever supernatural power
allowed it to produce speech without a tongue or vocal chords. “I'd
like to thank you on behalf on all the spirits trapped in the mansion
for that wonderful performance. I hope you stay awhile and gift us
with more music. In return maybe we can give you a few puppet shows?”
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